Multi-tiered rotating shelf system

ABSTRACT

A multi-tiered shelf system is provided. The multi-tiered shelf system includes a base, a lower shelf, an upper shelf and a mast. The base is configured to support the multi-tiered shelf system on a surface. The upper shelf is located a first distance from the surface. The mast extends between the lower shelf and the upper shelf. At least one of the upper and lower shelves is configured to be rotatable relative to the base and configured to separate into a plurality of shelf sections. At least one of the shelf sections is movable to a second distance from the surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/069,383 which was filed on Mar. 14, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to rotating shelf systems, and in moreparticular applications to multi-tiered rotating shelf systems.

BACKGROUND

Rotating shelf systems, such as lazy susans, have been used to providequick access to stored items within cabinets and for serving items, suchas on a table. Generally, such lazy susans have at least one rotatingshelf so that a user can quickly and easily find and retrieve itemslocated on the lazy susan.

In one form, portable lazy susans can be moved from location to locationas desired. Furthermore, such lazy susans can be placed within a cabinetwithout being physically attached to the cabinet. However, the shelvesor tiers of such lazy susans are oftentimes located in fixed verticalpositions, which can be problematic for taller items, such as foraerosol cans and olive oil containers. Such taller items can be locatedon a top shelf, but the items may then interfere with the originalshelves installed within the cabinets.

Other rotating shelf systems can be installed within a cabinet in a morepermanent manner, such as by bolting or otherwise affixing the rotatingshelf system to the cabinet. Generally, these systems include shelveswhich can be positioned at a variety of vertical heights as desired.However, the shelves are generally fixed in position in a permanent orsemi-permanent manner such that it can be difficult to quickly andeasily adjust the shelves to different vertical positions. For example,the shelves may be held in position using bolts and the like which mustbe removed to adjust the vertical position of the shelf.

SUMMARY

In one form, a multi-tiered shelf system is provided. The multi-tieredshelf system includes a base, a lower shelf, an upper shelf and a mast.The base is configured to support the multi-tiered shelf system on asurface. The upper shelf is located a first distance from the surface.The mast extends between the lower shelf and the upper shelf. At leastone of the upper and lower shelves is configured to be rotatablerelative to the base and configured to separate into a plurality ofshelf sections. At least one of the shelf sections is movable to asecond distance from the surface.

According to one form, a multi-tiered shelf system is provided. Themulti-tiered shelf system includes a base, an upper shelf and a mast.The base is configured to support the multi-tiered shelf system on asurface. The upper shelf is located a first distance from the surfaceand configured to be separable into a plurality of shelf sections. Themast extends between the base and the upper shelf. The plurality ofshelf sections are operably coupled to the mast to permit at least oneof the shelf sections to be vertically and rotationally adjustable aboutthe mast relative to the other shelf sections without removing the atleast one shelf section from the mast.

In accordance with one form, a multi-tiered shelf system is provided.The multi-tiered shelf system includes a base, a mast, a lower shelf andan upper shelf. The base configured to support the multi-tiered shelfsystem on a surface. The mast has a fixed portion and a movable shaftportion. The movable shaft portion is releasably secured to the fixedportion. The lower shelf is operably coupled to the mast. The uppershelf is operably coupled to the mast. At least one of the upper andlower shelves is configured to separate into a plurality of shelfsections such that at least one of the shelf sections is movablevertically and rotationally about the mast relative to the other shelfsections.

In one form, the upper shelf is separable into a plurality of shelfsections.

According to one form, the upper tier is separable into two halves.

In accordance with one form, each of the shelf sections areindependently rotatable and vertically adjustable.

In one form, both of the upper and lower shelves are independentlyrotatable with respect to the surface.

In accordance with one form, the relative positions of the upper andlower shelves are releasably secured with respect to one another.

According to one form, the multi-tiered shelf system further includes atleast one cam lock to releasably secure at least one of the shelfsections.

In one form, the movable shaft portion extends from within the fixedportion.

In accordance with one form, the multi-tiered shelf system furtherincludes at least one cam lock to releasably secure the movable shaftportion relative to the fixed portion.

Other forms are also contemplated as understood by those skilled in theart.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the subject mattersought to be protected, there are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings embodiments thereof, from an inspection of which, whenconsidered in connection with the following description, the subjectmatter sought to be protected, its constructions and operation, and manyof its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of a multi-tiered rotatingshelf system in a configuration having upper shelf sections forming anupper shelf;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the multi-tiered rotating shelf systemof FIG. 1 in a different configuration having the upper shelf sectionsseparated forming multiple tiers;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of themulti-tiered rotating shelf system illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of themulti-tiered rotating shelf system illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a multi-tiered rotating shelf systemlocated within a cabinet;

FIG. 6 is a top view of a multi-tiered rotating shelf system in aconfiguration having upper shelf sections separated forming multipletiers;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a multi-tiered rotating shelf system in adifferent configuration having upper shelf sections separated formingmultiple tiers;

FIG. 8 is a top view of a multi-tiered rotating shelf system in yetanother configuration having upper shelf sections separated formingmultiple tiers;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another form of a multi-tiered rotatingshelf system in a configuration having upper shelf sections separatedforming multiple tiers;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the multi-tiered rotating shelf systemof FIG. 9 in a configuration having upper shelf sections separatedforming multiple tiers in one vertical arrangement;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the multi-tiered rotating shelf systemof FIG. 9 in a configuration having upper shelf sections separatedforming multiple tiers in another vertical arrangement; and

FIG. 12 is a partial enlarged view of a portion of the shelf sections.

Various figures are presented to further aid one skilled in the art inunderstanding the various forms of the multi-tiered shelf system.However, the present invention should not be construed to be limited tothe forms depicted in the figures and described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various forms of multi-tiered shelf systems are illustrated in thefigures. For example, one form is illustrated in FIGS. 1-8, whileanother system is illustrated in FIGS. 9-12. Those skilled in the artshould readily appreciate the structures and operation of the systemsfrom the figures and the description herein. Further, it should be notedthat while specific structures may be referenced with regard to one ormore above embodiments, it should be understood that the structures andoperation may be interchanged and included in other embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1, a multi-tiered shelf system 20 is illustrated. Thesystem 20 includes a base 22, a lower tier or shelf 24, an upper shelf26 and a post or mast 28 extending between the lower and upper shelves24,26. The base 22 is configured to support the system 20 on a surface30, such as on a table or in a cabinet.

The system 20 may be rotatable with respect to the surface 30 and/or thebase 22. For example, in one form, the lower shelf 24 and the uppershelf 26 are operably coupled such that if a user were to rotate thelower shelf 24, the upper shelf 26 would also rotate. Alternatively, thelower shelf 24 and the upper shelf 26 can be independently rotatablewith respect to the base 22 such that one of the shelves 24,26 couldrotate in a first directions while the other shelf could remain inposition and/or rotate in the opposite direction.

Similarly, each of the lower and upper shelves 24,26 may beindependently vertically adjustable with respect to the base 22. Forexample, the upper shelf 26 may be vertically adjustable along the mast28 and/or the mast 28 itself may be vertically adjustable to move thelocation of the upper shelf 26. The lower shelf 24 may be adjustedvertically in a similar manner. However, in one form, such as shown inFIG. 1, the lower shelf 24 is not vertically adjustable, but insteadonly the upper shelf 26 is vertically adjustable.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in one form, the upper shelf 24 is separableinto a plurality of shelf sections 32,34. While two shelf sections 32,34are shown, it should be understood that the system 20 can include morethan two shelf sections and that the shelf sections can include largerand smaller shelf sections such that the sizes of each need not beequal. In one form, as shown in FIG. 1, each of the shelf sections 32,34are approximately equal in size. Additionally, it should be understoodthat the lower shelf 24 may also be separable into one or more shelfsections. In this regard, while the present application may refer toshelf sections 32,34, which are shelf sections which form the uppershelf 26, the descriptions and functionality described herein are alsoapplicable and should be construed to also cover the lower shelf 24being configurable into a plurality of shelf sections.

In one form, each of the shelf sections 32,34 includes a bottom wall 36,a side wall 38 and a dividing wall 40. These walls 36, 38, 40 cancooperate to retain items in the shelf sections 32,34 as the system 20is rotated. Further, the walls 36,38,40 can be integral to form asubstantially fluid tight container to hold liquids and other materialsthat might spill.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the mast 28 extends substantially between thelower shelf 24 and the upper shelf 26. While the mast 28 is shown inFIG. 3 as being connected to the lower shelf 24, it should also beunderstood that the mast 28 may extend through the lower shelf 24 and becoupled to the base 22. Moreover, the mast 28 may be coupled to thelower shelf 24 and/or the base 22 in a variety of manners as understoodby those skilled in the art. For example, referring to FIG. 4, a base 42of the mast 28 is shown. In this embodiment, the base 42 includes alower portion 44 having a number of protrusions 46 that extend into andengage slots (not shown) in the lower shelf 24. Further, the slotsinclude one or more retaining beads 48 that each can be used to engage aportion 50 of the protrusion 46 to help couple the mast 28 to the lowershelf 24.

It should be understood that the mast 28 can take a variety of forms.For example, referring to FIG. 1, the mast 28 includes a fixed portion52, a movable shaft portion 54 and a lock 56. In one form, the lock 56is located on the fixed portion 52 and is configured to releasablysecure the movable shaft portion 54 relative to the fixed portion 52. Asbest shown in FIG. 3, the movable shaft portion 54 is located at leastpartly within the fixed portion 52 and is configured to extendtherefrom. While the movable shaft portion 54 is illustrated as beingslidable within the fixed portion 52, it should also be understood thatthe movable shaft portion 54 may also be configured to be slidable on anexterior of the fixed portion 52 and further that the lock 56 may beconfigured to be located on the movable shaft portion 54.

The movable shaft portion 54 may further include additional features,such as stopper 58 and cap 60. The stopper 58 may be located at a lowerend 62 of the movable shaft portion 54 to prevent the movable shaftportion 54 from being inadvertently removed from the fixed portion 52.Furthermore, the cap 60 may be located at an upper end 64 of the movableshaft portion 54 to allow the shelves 24,26 and/or shelf sections 32,34to be coupled to the mast 28. In this regard, the shelves 24,26 and/orshelf sections 32,34 can be assembled by an end user onto the mast 28 tominimize the shipping size for the system 20 and further aid in thecleaning and storage of the system 20 when not in use.

The lock 56 may be any conventional structure understood by thoseskilled in the art to permit the movable shaft portion 54 to bereleasably secured relative to the fixed portion 52. For example, asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lock 56 is a cam lock 66. The cam lock 66includes a lever arm 68, a cam surface 70 and a friction pad 72. Thelever arm 68 can be used to manipulate the cam lock 66 between areleased and an engaged position. The cam lock 66 is illustrated in FIG.4 in the released position whereby the movable shaft portion 54 is freeto move relative to the fixed portion 52. As shown in FIG. 4, the leverarm 68 may be rotated in a counterclockwise direction whereby the camsurface 70 will engage and apply increasing pressure on the friction pad72. The friction pad 72 will consequently begin to engage and applypressure to the movable shaft portion 54. Therefore, when in the engagedposition, the cam lock 66 will frictionally engage and secure themovable shaft portion 54 such that it will be prevented from moving ineither a vertical or rotational direction relative to the cam lock 66.Alternatively, the cam lock 66 can be configured to engage a verticaladjustment lock (not shown) on the movable shaft portion 54 such thatwhen the cam lock 66 is in the engaged position the movable shaftportion 54 is free to move in the rotational direction.

As discussed above, one or both of the lower and upper shelves 24,26 canbe configured to be separable into a plurality of shelf sections, suchas sections 32,34. However, for the sake of brevity, the use andfunction of only the sections 32,34 will be discussed. The shelves 24,26and shelf sections 32,34 may be rotatable and/or vertically adjustablerelative to one another. For example, the upper shelf 26 can berotatable and vertically adjustable relative to the lower shelf 24and/or base 22. Additionally, the lower shelf 24 may also be rotatablerelative to the upper shelf 26 and/or base 22. Furthermore, the shelfsections 32,34 can be rotatable and vertically adjustable relative toone another as well as the lower section 24 and/or base 22.

The shelves 24,26 and/or shelf sections 32,34 can be secured in desiredvertical and/or rotational orientations using one or more securingdevices. For example, lock 56 may be sued to secure the shelves 24,26and shelf sections 32,34. Additionally, referring to FIG. 3, shelfsection 34 is secured to the movable shaft portion 54 by the cap 60 suchthat the section 34 is vertically and rotationally movable when themovable shaft portion 54 extends and rotates. As discussed above, themovable shaft portion 54 extends and rotates when the cam lock 66 is inthe released position. Similarly, the section 32 can be secured to themovable shaft portion 54 by an additional lock, such as cam lock 76. Camlock 76 is substantially similar to and functions in the same manner ascam lock 66. In this regard, section 32 can be moved vertically and/orrotationally about the movable shaft portion 54 when the cam lock 76 isin the released position and secured to the movable shaft portion 54when the cam lock 76 is in the engaged position. Therefore, as seen bythis example, the shelf 26 and sections 32,34 can be moved verticallyand rotationally with respect to each other, the shelf 24 and the base22. It should also be understood that the lower shelf 24 may bemanipulated in a similar manner.

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate various configurations of the shelves 24,26 andsections 32,34. For example, referring to FIG. 5, it may be desirable toplace a tall bottle 88 on the lower shelf 24, one or more medium heightbottles 90 on the section 32 and shorter bottles 92 on the section 34.FIGS. 6-8 illustrate other uses where the sections 32,34 are movedvertically and/or rotationally to accommodate various numbers and sizesof bottles. Therefore, the system 20 can include any number of differentconfigurations of the shelves 24,26 and sections 32,34 as desired toaccommodate different items.

A further system 100 is illustrated in FIGS. 9-12. In this form, themast 28 includes the fixed portion 52 and further includes a threadedshaft 102. The threaded shaft 102 threads into the fixed portion 52 tovertically and rotationally adjust the upper shelf 26 and the sections32,34. Section 32 may be configured to cooperate directly with thethreaded shaft 102 and/or cooperate with a further threaded shaft (notshown) to adjust vertically and rotationally. In this form, the mast 28may or may not include one or more locks 56 to secure the threaded shaft102. In some forms, the friction between the shaft 102 and the fixedportion 52 is sufficient that the lock 56 is not necessary.

The above systems 20,100 may include additional features and structures.For example, referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the system 100 furtherincludes securing structure, such as protrusion 104 and slot 106. Theprotrusion 104 and slot 106 can be configured to cooperate andreleasably secure the sections 32,34 together to form the upper shelf26. Additionally, referring to FIG. 3, the system 20 may include one ormore feet 108 to grippingly engage the surface 30. In one form, thesefeet 108 may be rubber or other polymeric material to increase thefriction between the feet 108 and surface 30. Moreover, the system20,100 may also include ball bearings, bushings and the like to assistin the rotation of the shelves 24,26 and sections 32,34. Otherstructures and features may also be included as understood by thoseskilled in the art. It should be understood that the above-describedfeatures are structures may be included on either of the systems 20,100.

The shelves 24,26 and sections 32,34 can take a variety of shapes. Forexample, as illustrated in the figures, the shelves 24,26 aresubstantially round and the shelf sections 32,34 form arc sections.However, it should be understood that other shapes of the shelf andshelf sections may be utilized, such as, for example, square,rectangular and the like.

The system 20,100 can be made from a variety of materials. For example,the shelves and post can be made from plastic or other materials.Furthermore, the shelves 24,26 and sections 32,34 may include a texturedand/or rubber coatings. In this manner, the coating or surface canassist the user in grasping and interacting with the shelves and shelfsections and prevent items from falling off of the shelf or shelfsection. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that othermaterials may also be utilized.

The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanyingdrawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation.While particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will beobvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the broader aspects of applicants'contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended tobe defined in the following claims when viewed in their properperspective based on the prior art.

1. A multi-tiered shelf system comprising: a base configured to supportthe multi-tiered shelf system on a surface; a lower shelf; an uppershelf located a first distance from the surface; and a mast extendingbetween the lower shelf and the upper shelf; at least one of the upperand lower shelves configured to be rotatable relative to the base andconfigured to separate into a plurality of shelf sections, at least oneof the shelf sections movable to a second distance from the surface. 2.The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 1 wherein the upper shelf isseparable into a plurality of shelf sections.
 3. The multi-tiered shelfsystem of claim 2 wherein the upper tier is separable into two halves.4. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 1 wherein each of the shelfsections are independently rotatable and vertically adjustable.
 5. Themulti-tiered shelf system of claim 1 wherein both of the upper and lowershelves are independently rotatable with respect to the surface.
 6. Themulti-tiered shelf system of claim 1 wherein the relative positions ofthe upper and lower shelves are releasably secured with respect to oneanother.
 7. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 1 further comprisingat least one cam lock to releasably secure at least one of the shelfsections.
 8. A multi-tiered shelf system comprising: a base configuredto support the multi-tiered shelf system on a surface; an upper shelflocated a first distance from the surface and configured to be separableinto a plurality of shelf sections; and a mast extending between thebase and the upper shelf, the plurality of shelf sections being operablycoupled to the mast to permit at least one of the shelf sections to bevertically and rotationally adjustable about the mast relative to theother shelf sections without removing the at least one shelf sectionfrom the mast.
 9. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 8 wherein theupper tier is separable into two halves.
 10. The multi-tiered shelfsystem of claim 8 wherein each of the shelf sections are independentlyrotatable and vertically adjustable.
 11. The multi-tiered shelf systemof claim 8 wherein the relative positions of the shelf sections arereleasably secured with respect to one another.
 12. The multi-tieredshelf system of claim 8 further comprising at least one cam lock toreleasably secure at least one of the shelf sections.
 13. A multi-tieredshelf system comprising: a base configured to support the multi-tieredshelf system on a surface; a mast having a fixed portion and a movableshaft portion, the movable shaft portion being releasably secured to thefixed portion; a lower shelf operably coupled to the mast; and an uppershelf operably coupled to the mast, at least one of the upper and lowershelves configured to separate into a plurality of shelf sections suchthat at least one of the shelf sections is movable vertically androtationally about the mast relative to the other shelf sections. 14.The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 13 wherein the upper shelf isseparable into a plurality of shelf sections.
 15. The multi-tiered shelfsystem of claim 14 wherein the upper shelf is separable into two halves.16. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 13 wherein each of the shelfsections are independently rotatable and vertically adjustable.
 17. Themulti-tiered shelf system of claim 13 wherein both of the upper andlower shelves are independently rotatable with respect to the surface.18. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 13 wherein the relativepositions of the upper and lower shelves are releasably secured withrespect to one another.
 19. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 13further comprising at least one cam lock to releasably secure at leastone of the shelf sections.
 20. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 13wherein the movable shaft portion extends from within the fixed portion.21. The multi-tiered shelf system of claim 20 further comprising atleast one cam lock to releasably secure the movable shaft portionrelative to the fixed portion.